Local fire crews responded to an early morning blaze last week that claimed the life of a local man. State investigators are examining the scene trying to determine the cause of the fire.

On Thursday, January 2, at approximately 1:34 a.m., E-911 dispatchers received a call reporting a house fire at 1419 Poss Road. Four Seasons, Midway, Short Mountain, and Johnsons Chapel units of the DeKalb County Fire Department responded to the scene, along with deputies with the DeKalb Sheriff’s Department and DeKalb EMS.

Upon arrival, firefighters found the single-wide trailer fully engulfed in flames and partially collapsed. Fire crews worked to contain the fire and keep it from spreading to other areas of the property, but the home and all of its contents were a total loss.

A victim of the blaze was soon found amongst the rubble. Officials positively identified the body as 59-year-old James Brian Storie.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s fire unit responded to the scene to investigate the cause of the blaze. No cause has of yet been released.